daily inspirations, curiosities, and obsessions

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If you were to ask me what I think of PacSun, the surf-skate inspired clothing brand for teens, I would flatly tell you, “I don’t.”

That changed while I was walking through my local mall on a shopping trip this week. I saw this display in the front window of the PacSun store. (There might have been one or two more shirts, but same general effect.)

At that moment I felt compelled to walk into the store and explain how the window made me weep for humanity, or at the very least take a picture and tweet my disapproval. I don’t have a smart phone (long story) or a misguided belief that the store manager has any say in what is displayed in the front window, so I didn’t.

However, I don’t blame PacSun Mom for wanting to voice her opinion. I think most of us can agree that purchasing the shirts was probably not the ideal way to do so. That said, I admire her for making a stand and I resent other people for trying to belie her sentiment because she is Mormon or was shopping with her 18 year-old son. Religion plays a major part in censorship in America, but I don’t believe that it does in this instance.

As someone who would be considered both politically and religiously liberal, I was offended by PacSun’s display.

I was most offended by the fact that they were the *only* apparel for young guys being displayed in the front window – as if to say “this is the coolest stuff in the store.”

I resent the fact that this objectification is so highly regarded by PacSun that they would make it unavoidable to anyone walking past the store. As a woman, that sh!t is embarrassing to see.

Why?

Women are not nameless accessories and we all are responsible for a culture that promotes this notion to young men.

If we want to break this cycle, we have to teach young men and women to respect each other’s anatomy as well as their autonomy.

I get that some people want to embrace the female form, but there are less objectifying images that could be used to do so.